Hailed in certain circles during his coronation several weeks ago as yet another franchise “saviour,” Brendan Shanahan’s first decision at the helm of the blue-and-white soap opera known as the Maple Leafs is bound to be an unpopular one among some within the team’s rabid fan base.

Of course, he’s accustomed to making controversial choices dating back to his time as the league’s disciplinarian.

As a result, by signing embattled coach Randy Carlyle to a two-year contract extension on Thursday, Sheriff Shanny and GM Dave Nonis sent the message that they’ve tuned out the public’s demands to have the coach’s head served up on a platter.

Summed up Nonis on Thursday: “If you are worried about optics in this market, it’s going to be a disaster.”

Just like the 2013-14 season was.

“You have to make a decision based on what you think is the best decision for the organization,” Nonis said. “This, in our minds, was truly the best option.

“We believe he can get the job done for us. The optics don’t really matter to us. If you’re looking to please people, you’re probably going to make some poor decisions.”

Certainly, the organization is taking a calculated risk here. Given that MLSE prez Tim Leiweke subscribes to the notion that the best splash is a big splash, having Shanahan opt to stand pat at both the head coach and, earlier this year, the general manager positions, doesn’t seem to fit his profile.

Of course, the hiring of Shanahan himself was, in itself, the kind of headline-grabbing move that Leiweke savours. In the process, Shanny now has the keys to the car — and, obviously, he has confidence to allow Nonis and Carlyle to remain behind the wheel.

To a point.

In reality, there is little wiggle room here for the coach and the GM. They had better win in 2014-15 — or else.

While it might seem like Carlyle and, to some extent, Nonis, have been given a vote of confidence by Shanahan, that support can crumble with each passing loss. And, from that perspective, both Nonis and Carlyle are on the hot seat.

In Nonis’ case, he obviously had Shanahan’s ear when it came to retaining Carlyle. If this ends up blowing up thanks to another season of questionable on-ice effort and unobtained expectations, neither the coach or the GM will be safe.

Letting employees go, regardless of contract status, is not a notion that Leiweke fears. He’s not short on money — just patience.

So, if that’s the case, why keep Carlyle?

For one, it seems obvious that there was no replacement that jumped out. Whether you agree or not, the determination was made that the likes of Barry Trotz, Kevin Dineen and Adam Oates were not significant upgrades on Carlyle, who has something those candidates didn’t — a Stanley Cup title as a coach.

At the same time, the fact that assistant coaches Dave Farrish, Scott Gordon and Greg Cronin were fired on Thursday is an indication that new voices were needed in terms of both flanking Carlyle behind the bench and in the dressing room.

Carlyle is a no-nonsense guy who isn’t afraid to crank up the volume and use colourful language to get his points across. There is a school of thought that suggests these tactics caused him to “lose the room” with players tuning him out.

Still, those of us who regularly watch practice see that Carlyle is trying to get his players to buy into a certain style: Puck possession, hard forechecking, tight defence. When the players listened, they almost upset the Boston Bruins in the 2013 playoffs. When they didn’t, it devolved into a nightmarish 2013-14 season that included a brutal eight-game skid down the stretch, resulting in the team missing the playoffs.

In bringing in new assistant coaches, what is needed is a variety of personalities who can try to reach the players in different ways than Carlyle’s often-gruff delivery. Moreover, an influx of ideas that range outside the box is key, such as being more open-minded toward analytics.

In addition, an assistant coach who can fix the ailing penalty kill is paramount. The Leafs’ penalty killing plopped from second in 2013 to 28th last season.

“It was mind-boggling to us that we had the same personnel and couldn’t stop opposing power plays,” Carlyle said.

While it might be considered “mind-boggling” to some that Leiweke and Shanahan would give Nonis and Carlyle some rope here to turn things around, keep in mind that it could turn into a noose in a big hurry.

mike.zeisberger@sunmedia.ca

twitter.com/zeisberger​

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